Anti-depressants for dogs.

[alleypalley]

Our mini schnauzer is just over a year old. She has always been a bit highly strung from being a puppy but her anxiety has got progressively worse. She's absolutely fine and totally loving with people she knows but if a stranger comes near her, or even looks at her in the wrong way she goes nuts, properly snarling and barking. We have to be really alert with her when we are out on walks as people do think it's ok to just come up and try and pet other people's dogs even though she wears a 'nervous' harness and we ask them to stay away.

So at the vets today he recommended a local behaviourists and also suggested we put her on anti anxiety drugs (I can't remember what the drug was called) as well as a lot of behaviour modification training.

I was just wandering if anyone has any experience of these, did they help, did they have any side effects?

One of mine was prescribed Zylkene a few years back, I didn't notice much of a difference but I don't think was an anti-depressant per se, so it might not be the same (blue capsule?).
However we recently tried those adaptil plug-ins and collars and there's definitely a difference in her. Much happier, more relaxed and perkier too (and I think I might be responding to them as well - I seem to be sleeping better?!?!)
All that said, she didn't really have the same issues - she was more generally neurotic and anxious over things, no real fear of strangers etc so I'm beginning to wonder if I should be posting this at all!

Thanks socks, I've not heard of adaptil I'll look into it.

Just bumping to see if anyone else had any experience of this.

My collie is on prozac and catapres, she is dog and new people aggressive.
It's been nearly a year so far and she is better with training and the catapres is a new med so may be dosed higher soon.
I don't think it will turn her into a friendly dog but it enables her to be trained to react differently. It still requires a lot of input and is not a magic bullet.

That's good to know torwen. Thank you.